Love. Sometimes it's not pretty.
Quark is feeling depressed over the loss of his business license and an infestation of voles in the bar. Rom tries to cheer him up by announcing that he's engaged to marry Leeta, but that doesn't help. Rom then suggests he go visit their mother Ishka for some unconditional love. Quark grumpily agrees and arrives at his mother's house on Ferenginar unannounced. Quark still hasn't reconciled that his mother wears clothes or champions civil rights for females, so their initial greeting is rough. But he becomes even more alarmed when he discovers there's someone hiding in his childhood closet, and it's Grand Nagus Zek! Ishka and Zek reveal that they're in a secret love affair, and Quark can't wait to use this to his advantage.Back on the station, Rom prepares for a Bajoran wedding ceremony and tries to get Leeta to sign a standard Ferengi Waiver of Property and Profit, in which his wife would forfeit all her possessions to him. Leeta balks at the request and refuses, but Rom won't back down, so Leeta calls off the engagement.
On Ferenginar, Quark receives another surprise visitor in his closet: his old nemesis Brunt of the FCA. Brunt is disgusted by Zek and Ishka's romance and demands that Quark put an end to it, offering a new business license if he should succeed. Quark agrees and begins insinuating to Zek that Ishka is only pursuing him for his money and influence. Then he goes to his mother and convinces her to ask the Nagus to use his influence on Quark's behalf. In a jiffy, Quark finds his mother sobbing about how Zek dumped her for trying to exploit him. But any guilt Quark may feel is muffled by receiving a business license from Brunt and a position as First Clerk from Zek.
Meanwhile, Rom is stewing over his predicament and gazing at his entire modest fortune of latinum. O'Brien repeats the advice he's been giving to him all along: forget about the waiver. Rom decides that Leeta is worth more than all of his latinum. He finds her on the promenade and announces that he's given all of his latinum away to the Bajoran War Orphans Fund so that the waiver will not be necessary. The happy couple embrace as O'Brien and Bashir look on approvingly.
Quark isn't so happy on Ferenginar. During his first meeting as First Clerk, he realizes that Zek is having serious memory problems. Without Ishka to help him, Zek makes blunders that drive the market into a tailspin. The whole Ferengi economy could go down, but this has all been part of the plan for Brunt, who plans to use the crisis to overthrow Zek and become Nagus. In spite of it all, Quark and Ishka decide to side with Zek and help him pass the FCA's tests, retaining his position. Zek realizes that he needs help to continue ruling and tries to enlist Quark, but Quark presents his own financial adviser as a replacement: Ishka. Zek initially bristles but quickly falls back into his former loving ways.
As Quark prepares to return to the station, Ishka gives him his old action figures that he was looking for. Brunt arrives once more to say that he'll survive whatever blowback is caused by his failed coup and vows to keep a close eye on Quark's business dealings going forward. Quark is unconcerned and begins playing with his action figures.
Tropes
- Act of True Love: Rom does something unthinkable for a Ferengi and gives all his latinum to charity, which serves as a two-way example of this; Leeta is moved by his willingly sacrificing his profit for her, while her staying with him despite his being destitute shows Rom she's in this for him and not his money.
- Bad Boss: Martok threw one of his crew over the edge of a railing in an argument and nearly hit a Bolian ambassador. Worf stands up for him, pointing out that this is perfectly acceptable by Klingon standards, that the guy didn't die, and the Bolian ambassador didn't actually get hit.
- Bavarian Fire Drill: When Quark stumbles upon Zek hiding in Quark's closet, Zek attempts to scare him off by claiming that the FCA had banned him from Ferenginar entirely. It almost works, until
Quark asks himself what the Nagus is doing in his closet. - Batman Gambit: Quark pulls one on Zek and his mother to get them to fight. With Zek, he brings up the rumors of how Ishka didn't give back all the money she earned in violation of Ferengi law, and how she wants to make women equal in Ferengi society. While with his mother, he acts heavily depressed about his situation to play on her emotions to try and ask Zek to reconsider. With Quark having told him that she means to manipulate him on larger things, Zek perceives this manipulation as being the start of a coup and yells at Ishka, leading to a fight and the ending of their relationship.
- Blatant Lies: Rom, crying his eyes out after ruining his engagement to Leeta, insists that they're Tears of Joy. Neither Sisko nor Odo believes him. Likewise, Leeta rants to Kira about how much she hates Rom and how happy she is that their wedding is off. Kira patiently shoots down every one of her statements.
- Brief Accent Imitation: Brunt imitates Zek's accent and high pitch while mocking him.
- Call-Back: Rom gets suspicious about marrying Leeta and thinks she's going to try and swindle him out of all his money like Nog's mother did.
- Catchphrase: As always, Brunt announces his presence with, "Brunt. FCA." In the final scene, Quark gets a dig in by musing, "But for how much longer?"
- Continuity Nod:
- Jadzia compares Cardassian voles to tribbles. Except they're less cute.
- The Ferengi action figures are seen holding laser whips, not unlike the ones used by the original Ferengi in TNG's "The Last Outpost".
- Although he's not seen, Martok gets mentioned as having been arrested for tossing one of his own men off the upper level of the Promenade. Worf, who was established to admire Martok, defends him.
- Crazy Cultural Comparison: According to Worf, it's perfectly normal for a Klingon officer to deal with a recalcitrant subordinate by tossing them over a railing. Sisko points out that Martok and his men are currently stationed on a Bajoran/Starfleet-run space station, where such disciplinary methods are tantamount to assault.
- Deadpan Snarker: During his effort to drive a wedge between Zek and Ishka, Quark points a disruptor to his head. Ishka calmly tells him the power cells are dry.
- Deal with the Devil: Quark agrees to help Brunt in exchange for getting his trading license back. It turns out Brunt was just using him to get at Zek.
- Delayed Reaction: Quark comes home, goes into his room, opens the closet door, hands the Grand Nagus his bag, and closes the door. Then he realises what he just saw and goes back. Zek yells at him for being on Ferenginar at all, and Quark panics and starts to leave. It's only when he's almost at the door that he starts thinking about why the Nagus is in his closet in the first place.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance:
- Being a Ferengi episode, the species' obsession with profit and patriarchy are center focus. We also get an interesting moment when Zek refuses to overturn Quark's business license revocation on principle, even though the circumstances of that revocation were ridiculous to human values.
- Worf points out that Martok's assault of his underling is just standard Klingon behavior.
- Everyone Has Standards: Essentially sums up the reason Quark dislikes the idea of Brunt as Nagus. While all Ferengi are meant to focus on personal profit, a Nagus has to think of the wider profit of the Ferengi people rather than just his own agenda.
- Exact Words: When you go to pay your respects to the Grand Nagus, you actually do have to pay.
- Foreshadowing: Zek and Ishka recount the story of how they met while he was losing the Global Tongo Championship. This is the first hint that he's starting to go senile.
- From Bad to Worse: Quark already is in dire financial straits thanks to the FCA, but then he gets another infestation of Cardassian voles, forcing him to close the bar for three days while Starfleet goes in, guns blazing, to get rid of them.
- Funny Background Event: At one point, poor Maihar'du, who is about a foot taller than everyone on Ferenginar, can be seen wincing and adjusting his back after crouch-walking through yet another Ferengi-sized door.
- Gilligan Cut: Rom is certain that Leeta will sign the Waiver of Property and Profit. We cut to her balking at the idea.
- Hidden Depths: Maihar'du turns out to be a surprisingly good cook.
- Mandatory Line: Bashir, Worf, Sisko, Odo, and Kira all show up for only a line or two.
- Negative Continuity: Quark advises Zek to check out the Vulcans' latest memory-loss treatments. This line serves as a clever little escape hatch, allowing future writers to downplay or eliminate Zek's senility if they want to.
- Noodle Incident: The last time Ferenginar had a financial crisis as bad as the one Quark causes, the Nagus ended up assassinated, the only time it happened to a sitting Nagus. He also ended up buried next to his first clerk.
- Not So Above It All:
- After Ishka gives him his old Marauder Mo action figures from storage, Quark immediately begins playing with them like a little kid.
- Ishka notes that even taking them out of the packaging and playing with them when he was a kid demonstrated a love of fun above profit, something apparently not standard for Ferengi children.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome:
- Quark helping coach Zek through the meeting with the FCA liquidators, apparently leaving Brunt dumbstruck.
- Rom's act of charity in giving all his life savings to the Bajoran War Orphan's Fund earns him a kiss from Kira in thanks.
- Oh, Crap!: Quark, when he realizes that Zek is not the financial genius he once was.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In "Family Business," Quark mentioned how Ishka shirked the traditions of Ferengi females, including prechewing food for her children. When Quark decides to go to his room, Ishka offers to make him something to eat and even prechew it, a subtle sign that she doesn't want him going to his room.
- Reasonable Authority Figure:
- Zek and the position of Nagus is shown to be this for the whole of the Ferengi Alliance.
- While he encourages greedy, manipulative behavior, he also acts to temper it and make sure the society's greed is genuinely beneficial to growth. Tanking the whole economy for the sake of a power grab, like Brunt does here, is an action a Grand Nagus should never take.
- He also refuses to overturn the FCA's ban on Quark doing business with other Ferengi. While it’s within his power to do so, he points out that Quark broke one of the most important laws in Ferengi society: "A contract is a contract is a contract." To undo the FCA's punishment as a personal favor to his lover and her son would undermine the Alliance's rule of law.
- Sisko shows his skills in diplomacy in handling Martok being arrested for throwing one of his men off the bridge in the Promenade. Though he was barely injured or shaken, he narrowly missed an ambassador by a centimeter. Sisko has Odo release Martok, but then has Worf tell the General there is to be no more of this kind of punishment on the station or Sisko will have Chancellor Gowron send a replacement.
- Zek and the position of Nagus is shown to be this for the whole of the Ferengi Alliance.
- Running Gag: People keep turning up in Quark's closet.
- Scatterbrained Senior: It turns out that the formerly razor-sharp Grand Nagus is going senile, to the point where he forgets the subject of a conversation that he and Quark started less than two minutes ago.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Rom decided to forego the Ferengi contract of marriage due to his love for Leeta.
- Sickeningly Sweethearts: Zek and Ishka flirt and fawn over each other shamelessly whenever they're together.
- Silent Snarker: Maihar'du gets in a good eye-roll at some of Zek's senility.
- The Starscream: Brunt is willing to send the Ferengi economy into free-fall so he can seize the position of Nagus.
- Suddenly Shouting: A bereaved Iskha telling Quark that while she understands how he puts his own concerns first... she DOESN'T GIVE A DAMN.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: This happens when Dax and Chief O'Brien comment that Rom is the Ferengi the least like a Ferengi they've met. It causes him to reconsider things and try to get Leeta to sign a prenup which strips her of all of her money and any money she has is turned over to her husband.
- Quark manipulates Zek into breaking up with Ishka, only to find out that Zek is slipping into senility and she's been advising him on economic matters and generally keeping the Ferengi Alliance afloat. One day without Ishka around sees Zek and Quark causing one of the worst single-day market crashes in Ferenginar's history.
- The Woman Behind the Man: With Zek going senile, it's Quark's mom who's been keeping the Ferengi economy from imploding. One day without her causes a drop of 199 points.
